I can confidently brag that I am an expert packer. Honed through a childhood of adventurous family trips, frequent teenage sleepovers, extensive work travel, and years in a long distance relationship - I'm now able to pack for 2 weeks in less than an hour and fit everything in a carry-on bag.
The thing that remains the most difficult part for me is coming in under the TSA liquid restrictions. With such a small space budget for liquids, gels, and aerosols, I wanted to share my advice and what's in my current travel bag.
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First of all, the bag itself. Airlines usually require that all your liquids fit inside a transparent, quart sized bag and they provide ziplock bags at screening. After having too many of those break at the seams I picked up this travel bag from Sephora (but you can easily find lots of cuter-than-ziplock bags online that are TSA approved). At Sephora you can get one of these bags free if you purchase 5 travel items (and they count single use sheet masks as a travel item, so it's a good excuse to stock up). This bag is more durable than the standard free baggies at the airport, and looks cuter in my luggage too.
For foundation I pack a travel size of the best tinted moisturizer ever, Laura Mercier. The colour is sheer and easy to apply with my fingers (since I'm not packing many brushes or sponges). In my makeup bag I also pack a cushion foundation compact (which doesn't count as a liquid!) to layer on for extra coverage if I have an event that I feel I need it for.
I don't pack shampoo or conditioner, since most hotels I travel to will have some, even though they're often not great.A small travel bottle of moroccan oil helps my hair look healthier even if I've used hotel shampoo with the awful in-room blowdryers. A trip is also a great excuse to get a blowout. With a good one, you can avoid washing your hair for a few days.
Toothpaste. Boring, but essential.
When I get samples of products at Sephora or department stores, I stock them away in a makeup bag for upcoming trips. I tend to only keep products I've used before, as I have really sensitive skin, and when you're away from home it's not fun to find out a new product makes you break out or gives you a rash.
They say scent is an extremely powerful trigger of memory. I have a small bag of perfume samples I want to try and bring different ones with me on vacations. I love bringing it back out again months later and being reminded of past travels.
It's always hard to adjust to sleeping in a strange place in a different time zone. One product that I've found that really helps me is an aromatherapy pillow spray by the brand thisworks. It has a beautiful lavender scent that helps me sleep, and because it's a product I use at home too, it helps a new bed feel a bit more familiar, even if the mattress isn't as comfortable as my own bed and the pillows are too flat. They also make a convenient travel size that hardly takes up any space.
Always try to buy travel products that come in squeezable tubes, rather than a hard shelled container. This way the more you use, the more space you'll have to add more things. I had a hard time finding a good travel cleanser until I found this Bobbi Brown travel balm cleanser. It's really heavy and moisturizing, which is great for tired, dry skin I always get from being on planes and it doesn't take up too much space.
Beside my cleanser is my Embryolisse moisturizer, also in a smart, squeezable tube. This product is great for travelling because it's so multi-use. It's a good moisturizer, a great primer for makeup, and you can also use it as a moisturizing mask.
Not pictured is the perfect-for-flights Caudalie Beauty Elixir, that I've raved about before, and always has a place in my travel bag.
I always make sure everything is there at the end of a trip, and replace anything I've run out of. I keep this bag in my suitcase so it's always ready to go and I don't forget anything.
